Giants expose Lincecum, Pence, Lopez to waivers

DENVER -- The Giants' Tim Lincecum, Hunter Pence and Javier Lopez were all put on waivers over the weekend and quickly claimed, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.

Nearly every MLB player goes through waivers in August, but players are rarely moved. Heyman reported that the three Giants would not be dealt to the teams that put in the waiver claims. Teams often put in waiver claims to block players from potentially going to other clubs. The Giants used the tactic in 2010 to keep Cody Ross from the San Diego Padres and ended up with a surprise contributor.

Lincecum, Pence and Lopez all will be free agents at the end of the season and the Giants have expressed a desire to bring all three back. General manager Brian Sabean set the price high at the trade deadline and ultimately decided to keep all three players despite the fact that the Giants were already out of the race.

"We've still got all our assets in the bank and in the organization, and we retained three guys we wanted to re-sign," Sabean said after the deadline passed. "I'm pleased with the outcome."

Pence and Lopez have been vocal about returning to San Francisco. Lincecum has largely avoided any talk about free agency but recently said that he appreciates the support he is getting this season.

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"This organization and what it represents, it has a lot of familiarity with me, as well as the fan base," he said. "That's been without saying for the past seven years, and that will definitely play into my decision when that time comes."